Social Norms and Customs of Trinidad! (part I)

Wondering what’s the culture of Trinidad and Tobago? What are some social customs of Trinidad and Tobago? We’ll try our best to give you a taste of life in Sweet Trinbago!

Though there may not be mandatory nose-rubbing as a greeting, there are some quirky dos and don’ts that would make your Trini visit more interesting.

First off, for most people, a ‘Trini’ does not include persons living in Tobago. It may be a twin republic but citizens from each island prefer to remain culturally independent. A ‘Trini’ is from Trinidad and a Tobagonian is from . . . Tobago. A ‘Trinibagonian’, well you can figure out that one, but that term is hardly used.

Because there are so many ethnicities in Trinidad and Tobago, you will most likely never experience any outright racism. Persons of African descent may be called ‘Black’ or ‘Negro’. If you’re of Indian descent (including Amerindian), you’re generally referred to as ‘Indian’. If there is any trace of European or American in someone, they’ll be grouped into the lot called ‘white’. As for the term ‘chinee’, unfortunately this refers to anyone with a ‘chunky eye’ or ‘chinee’ looking.

If you look mixed up in any way, you’ll be described as either ‘mixed’, ‘dougla’ or ‘red’!

And that’s just the way the ball rolls. So if you’re visiting from America and the Taxi driver yells

‘Aye, white woman, here’s your change!”

Don’t be offended. Welcome to sweet TnT!

To be continued . . .

About Thannas

Thanna's Place is a family-owned bed and breakfast in Belmont, a suburb of Trinidad's capital Port of Spain.